After a nearly four-year battle, delayed by COVID-19 and the untimely death of the initial arbitrator assigned to the case, former University of Connecticut men’s basketball head coach Kevin Ollie has been determined to have been improperly terminated and was awarded slightly more than $11.1 million. Replacement arbitrator Mark Irvings concluded that even though Ollie had a separate employment agreement, the University violated the terms of the collective bargaining agreement that covered Ollie’s employment.

The University of Connecticut Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), the organization that represents coaches at the University, filed a grievance on Ollie’s behalf. The collective bargaining agreement contained certain relevant provisions in addition to the terms of Ollie’s individual employment agreement with the University.

While serving as the head coach, Ollie led his team to a 127-79 record over six years, including winning the national championship in 2014. However, Ollie lost credit for two seasons of his team’s victories after the NCAA determined he had violated a series of NCAA Bylaws by failing to promote compliance within his basketball program. The NCAA issued a three-year show cause order against Ollie, essentially prohibiting him from occupying the sidelines as a coach for this period.

In March 2018, based on the NCAA allegations but more than a year before the NCAA’s final determination that Bylaw violations had occurred,...

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